Australian shares end off record high ahead of Fed rate decision
ASX 200 ends flat after touching fresh record high
Fed Policy decision due at 1800 GMT
Australia's August labour market data due Thursday
Updates to close
By Himanshi Akhand
Sept 18 (Reuters) -Australian shares ended flat on Wednesday after hitting a record high, as a fall in miners offset gains in financials, while investors assessed the odds of a likely super-sized rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO closed at 8,142.1 points, after touching a record high of 8,153.50 points early in the session.
"There's a lot of caution in the lead up (to the Fed decision)," Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG Australia, said.
The Federal Reserve is expected to make its first interest rate cut in more than four years at the end of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
Markets continue to price in a more than 60% probability of a 50-basis-point cut, despite strong U.S. retail sales data making a case for a smaller cut. FEDWATCH
On the contrary, markets see little prospect of a cut in the Reserve Bank of Australia's cash rate at its meeting next Tuesday, given that policymakers have been sounding consistently hawkish. 0#RBAWATCH
"The hawkish RBA has certainly weighed on the ASX 200," Sycamore said.
Australia's labour market data due on Thursday and the monthly CPI indicator due next Wednesday will be the two potential flash data points for the RBA to gauge the temperature of the economy, Sycamore said.
Mining stocks .AXMM closed 0.6% lower after iron ore futures prices slumped amid prospects of firm supply and soft steel demand. IRONORE/
Rio Tinto RIO.AX and BHP Group BHP.AX fell 0.9% each.
Healthcare stocks .AXHJ dropped 0.4%.
Energy shares .AXEJ gained 0.7% despite weaker oil prices. O/R
Coal miner New Hope NHC.AX jumped 4.6% to lead gains on the sub-index, a day after its full-year dividend beat estimates.
Gold stocks .AXGD added 0.4%.
Rate-sensitive financials .AXFJ climbed 0.4% with National Australia Bank NAB.AX and Westpac WBC.AX advancing 1.4% and 0.4%, respectively.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.7% to end the session at 12,596.98 points.
Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru
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